37 EDGE o make it big in the world of situation comedy, you can’t inte rview be just another pretty face. T In fact, jaw-dropping good looks often work against you. Jaime Jaime Pressly Pressly was an absolute revelation in the demented, over-the-top sitcom My Name Is Earl —giving as good as she got with comedy veterans Jason Lee and Ethan Suplee, and setting new standards for questionable parenting as Earl’s ex-wife, Joy. Now a mother herself (son Dezi is 11 and twins Leo and Lenon were born last year), Pressly has landed on yet another hit comedy series, co-starring with Alison Janney and Ana Faris in Mom . Gerry Strauss talked to Jaime about her unique upbringing, and how it has influenced her career choices. EDGE: After your Emmy-winning performance as Joy on My Name Is Earl , the world got a chance to fall in love with you again as Jill when you joined the cast of Mom in the show’s second season. What appealed to you about the new role? s b c JP: Well, the first thing that was f o y s appealing was the fact that Chuck e t r u o Lorre called me and said he wanted c VISIT US ON THE WEB www.edgemagonline.com 38 INTERVIEW me to do it. Anytime Chuck Lorre calls you and says he wants you to do something, you’re like, “Yup, okay.” It’s kind of like if [ My Name Is Earl creator] Greg Garcia were to call me and say he wants me to do something, I’m there. So the opportunity to work with him was a no-brainer for me. And to go to work with Allison Janney and Anna Faris? That was another no-brainer for me. EDGE: Jill is in recovery. Was that interesting to you? JP: I was excited about the role…when Chuck called, he said, “She’s a girl who’s a recovering drug addict and alcoholic.” At the beginning, we thought she was going to be bipolar. I was like, “Well that sounds interesting. Write me in, I’m down.” The writing on Mom is incredible—much like the shows I loved when I was a kid, like Roseanne and Maude and All in the Family and Cheers and Golden Girls . All those shows weren’t afraid to end on a low note. They had drama and comedy, and the comedy came from real-life drama, which is what Get a Word in made it real. It wasn’t just hitting the punchline. EDGE: As a mom yourself, how does the shooting EDGE-wise! schedule work? Does your business need increased name JP: I just couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity. To recognition and exposure? be able to go to work and have that great schedule when • Look no further than the pages of EDGE where I am a mom was extremely appealing. Unlike the schedule you can showcase what’s new and exciting in on Earl , which was tougher because it was single- your business for just pennies per reader. camera. You know, I get to come home. I get to be with • Get direct access to more readers for less cost and a longer life for your advertising message than my kids in the morning and at night. any other locally mailed advertising option. EDGE: How about your own childhood, growing up in Kinston, North Carolina? I know you competed in One call can put gymnastics. Were you a competitive kid? you on the EDGE of more business JP: It was a pretty idyllic childhood, I’m not going to lie. It for your business! was a tiny, tiny town, and everybody knew each other. We (908) 994-5138 rode our bikes to school in kindergarten all the way through. It was safe. My mom was a dance teacher—she VISIT US ON THE WEB www.edgemagonline.com INTERVIEW 39 only retired like a year ago. I was a gymnast for 11 years but I was actually more of a dancer. I danced for like 25 years. And competitive? No. I’m only competitive with myself. Even with going on a casting call or an audition, I would talk to everybody in the room because I’m not out to cut anybody’s throat. If I get the job, great. If I don’t, good luck to you. So it has always just been about topping myself, not anybody else. EDGE: What do you think your parents passed down to you? JP: I would say, from my mom, I learned discipline, because dancing teaches you discipline certainly. My dad would tell me that good things come to those who wait, so from him, it was more about taking things slow and learning how to be patient. With my mom, it was about upper case editorial The Area’s Newest Hotel… Excellent Location with Extensive Banquet & Event Space • Brand new hotel with modern décor – home of the Luxurious Oasis Ballroom • 10,000 sq ft of flexible meeting space catering to corporate and social events • Complimentary internet in all our guest rooms and public spaces • Microwave, mini-fridge and safes in all rooms 304 Route 22 West • Fitness Center & Springfield, NJ 07081 Indoor Saline Pool 973 232 5300 | 973 232 5301 Fax • Garden Grille opened for www.hgispringfield.hgi.com breakfast & dinner VISIT US ON THE WEB www.edgemagonline.com 40 INTERVIEW learning discipline and working hard for what you get. And then manners came from both my parents, because we’re southern… you know, it’s a thing there. Everything was really about manners. And with my kids, everything is about manners. My son Dezi, who's almost 11, he’s one of the most polite children you'll ever meet out here, I promise, in California. “Berkshire Hathaway EDGE: When you began your modeling career, you had is built to be forever … to be legally emancipated from your parents’ care. How did that go down? it’s true of all the businesses we own. You want to be part of an organization that’s JP: It wasn’t a bad thing. It wasn’t like I divorced my not looking to sell out next week, next month parents. It was because neither of them could go with or next year, or where the place will crumble me, and as a teenager I had to get past child labor laws. when founders leave. In terms of permanence, So we emancipated me so that I could go to Japan on we can’t be beat. Not only can we the contract. not be topped by anyone, we EDGE: Amicable as it may have been, you were still very can’t be matched by anyone .” young to be traveling and living on your own… across the – Warren Buffett, Chairman & CEO, globe, no less. Did you feel ready? Berkshire Hathaway Inc. JP: I was. I had no fear. You know, really, fear never came WHAT IS YOUR into my body until I had a child. I was just fearless in every HOME WORTH? way. I was excited and eager to travel. It was fun for me— although I can’t imagine ever sending my child away at If you’ve been wondering what 15 and not going with them. But for me, it was different. your home is worth and would be I was a different kid. I grew up very quickly and I had a interested in knowing if now is the good head on my shoulders. I knew what I wanted, and right time to list your home for sale, I was a fighter. I wanted to get out there and see the world PLEASE CALL US TODAY! and I wanted to travel. So it never even crossed my mind to be afraid. EDGE: When did acting enter the picture? JP: I always wanted to act. I started out modeling first TOM WACASTER PAMELA JONES because I had entered a model search when I was back Sales Associate Sales Associate home in North Carolina. I found it in the back of a Cell: 908-202-1920 Cell: 732-910-9318 Office: 908-755-5300 Office: 908-755-5300 magazine, and I ended up winning. My mom and I came [email protected] [email protected] out here to California, and they brought us back out again VISIT US ON THE WEB www.edgemagonline.com INTERVIEW 41 because they wanted me to shoot for the cover of Teen magazine. Two other girls and I ended up getting it, and my mom and I moved out the month that my first cover came out, which was June of ’92. So that was how I got my foot in the door. But standing in front of the camera and just posing was never the plan. It was fun for a minute and I loved the travel. But it was never my end-game plan, by any means. EDGE: A couple of your early roles involved some nudity and sexuality. Were you comfortable being placed in those situations? JP: I was and I wasn’t. I mean, there were moments of chuck lorre Productions/warner television me feeling like I hate doing this , but like I said, I grew up as a dancer. Dancers are very comfortable with their bodies. Also, I had a European brain back then when it VISIT US ON THE WEB www.edgemagonline.com 42 INTERVIEW came to showing your body, so I didn’t think it was that big of a deal.